Once again, I did a pretty good job estimating our expenses for Leg 17, and we came in just $123 under budget, a less than 1% deviation. We’d saved so much in the early part of the leg that we were able to do more than expected in the final three weeks of our trip in Perugia and Rome, so that was nice. I think part of the budgeting success was because this was our sixth leg in Europe (prior legs: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2024) so even though we’re visiting different countries each time, we know what our life tends to look like in Europe, so it is easier to estimate.
Where We Were
Countries visited: 4 – Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Italy (new in bold)
Cities visited (overnight): 9 – Sofia, Bansko, Skopje, Ohrid, Tirana, Ancona, Perugia, San Gimignano, Rome
Number of hotels: 2
Number of hotel nights: 7
Number of apartments: 7
Number of apartment nights: 106
Number of nights on a ferry: 1 (crossing from Albania to Italy)
Total lodging budget: $4,909
Total lodging actual: $4,963 (most of overage due to tourist taxes)
How We Got Around and What We Did
Total transit budget: $5,641
Total transit actual: $5,276
Number of flights: 2 (not including connections)
Number of overnight ferries: 1 (from Durres near Tirana to Bari, Italy)
New transportation discovery: daytrip.com for booking private city-to-city transfers — we used this to get from Bansko to Skopje; it worked out really well and saved hours of time on a bus
Total food/entertainment budget: $5,950 ($350/week for 17 weeks)
Total food/entertainment actual: $6,137 ($361/week; good thing we had transportation savings!)
Totals
Total budget: $16,500 for 17 weeks ($970/week average, we’ve had to up our weekly average due to inflation)
Total actual: $16,377 for 17 weeks ($963/week, less than 1% difference)
Number of weeks over budget: 7
Number of weeks under budget: 10
Least expensive week: Week 3, August 11-17, $365, the heart of our time in Bansko, where we had $150/week lodging and spent most of our leisure time hiking
Most expensive week: Week 17, November 17-23, $2,581, but most of that was our flight home from Rome and getting restocked on groceries in the U.S. (so expensive)
The Best Parts
Best experiences (chronologically):
- Learning Bulgarian history in Sofia
- Listening to amazing live music at Bansko Jazz Fest
- Hiking and picnicking in the mountains of Bansko
- Watching opera in a restored Roman amphitheater in Plovdiv
- Visiting various old churches in Lake Ohrid
- Learning about history and architecture through tip-based walking tours in Tirana
- Enjoying every day trip we took from Perugia
- Hunting for truffles in Assisi
- Experiencing “la dolce vita” in Perugia, especially the chocolate and aperitivi
- Hiking around San Gimignano and admiring its tours
- Rediscovering Rome with a great friend
Best meals:
Three Sofia dinners (Restaurant MOMA, La Soleil, Aubergine), Georgian lunch in Sofia (Pirosmani), vegetarian meal in Tirana (Fresh Garden), Bari spaghetti and orecchiette (Antò), nonna’s orecchiette at home in Perugia, aperitivi crawl in Ancona (King Edward Pub and Civico 61), Michelin meal in Perugia (Ristorante Il Giurista), focaccia con porchetta picnic in Assisi (La Bottega Dei Sapori), Tuscan lunch in Siena (Osteria Permalico), Tuscan dinner in San G (Osteria Delle Catene).